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PhysicsWallah launches Rs 250 Cr Scholarship Fund for JEE/NEET aspirants

EntrackrEntrackr · 11m ago
PhysicsWallah launches Rs 250 Cr Scholarship Fund for JEE/NEET aspirants
Medial

Edtech firm PhysicsWallah (PW) has announced a scholarship fund of Rs 250 crore through its third edition of the NSAT (National Scholarship Common Admission Test) 2024. This initiative aims to help students aspiring to excel in NEET-UG and IIT-JEE exams by providing top-quality education and expert guidance, regardless of their financial situation. The NSAT exam will be held online from October 1 to October 15, 2024; and offline on October 6 and October 13, 2024 at selected centers. The registration for the NSAT 2024 program has officially begun, inviting students from Class VI to XII, including those in PCM and PCB groups. According to PW, the top 1,000 students who excel in these exams will receive a 100% scholarship, including accommodation. Among these, special consideration will be given to the top 500 underprivileged students. Co-founded in 2020 by Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari, PW offers education at scale across India through online, offline, and hybrid platforms. Its offerings span various educational segments, including schools, test preparation in more than 43 categories, a skilling vertical, higher education, and study abroad (AcadFly). PW has raised $100 million in funding from investors like Westbridge and GSV Ventures.

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Competishun aims to help make IIT-JEE, NEET prep affordable, more accessible

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Competishun aims to help make IIT-JEE, NEET prep affordable, more accessible
Medial

Edtech space in India is already quite cluttered with a number of startups, including several unicorns, trying to carve out their own piece of the digital classroom pie. The Indian edtech market reported a total revenue of $4.3 billion in 2022, marking a CAGR of 16.8% since 2017, according to a market study. Even as some late-stage edtech firms faced challenges post-pandemic, others like PhysicsWallah have shown promise. VCs too remain optimistic about early-stage firms. One such early-stage firm is Competishun, which competes with platforms like Vedantu and Unacademy, but with an exclusive focus on IIT-JEE and NEET prep. We spoke to the founder and CEO of Competishun Mohit Kumar Tyagi, what distinguishes it from the competition and the roadmap ahead. Here are the edited excerpts: How did you come up with the idea of Competishun? The idea for Competishun emerged from a vision to transform IIT-JEE and NEET coaching methodology by offering comprehensive and effective preparation methods to students across India. We recognized the need for accessible, high-quality training at affordable cost that could level the playing field for all students, irrespective of their financial backgrounds. Please explain how the platform works? Competishun’s platform functions by providing structured online and offlinecourses, study materials, and books for JEE (Main + Advanced) and NEET(UG) preparation. We aim to create a comfortable learning environment for students through online education at an affordable cost. Our platform offers customized online batches based on students’ needs and performance, with doubt-solving counters and 24/7 support via WhatsApp and phone. Additionally, we provide personalized attention to enrolled students through Telegram doubt sessions and live Zoom sessions, ensuring their academic success. What are the key challenges in the industry that have not been addressed yet? And how do you plan to address them? One significant challenge in the industry is the lack of personalized learning experiences and the underutilization of technology. Competishun addresses this by offering adaptive learning algorithms, personalized study plans, and utilizing cutting-edge technology to enhance the learning experience. We strive to provide cost-effective, quality education to all JEE and NEET aspirants at the comfort of their homes, dispelling the myth that online education cannot yield results. Moreover, we aim to counter unethical practices by competitors in the online space, thereby instilling confidence in parents and students regarding online learning. How has your startup performed since inception? What are your short-term and long-term goals? Since its inception, Competishun has witnessed significant growth in terms of user enrollment, JEE Main and Advanced results, course completion rates, and positive feedback from students and educators. We take pride in having assisted thousands of students in achieving their academic goals. In the short term, our goals include expanding our course offerings, enhancing platform features, and strengthening our market presence. In the long term, we envision establishing hybrid study centers across the nation, thereby providing a blended learning experience to students.

Gemba Capital launches Rs 250 Cr Fund-II

EntrackrEntrackr · 11m ago
Gemba Capital launches Rs 250 Cr Fund-II
Medial

Gemba Capital, a Sebi-registered micro VC firm, has announced the launch of its second fund with a corpus of Rs 250 crore (around $30 million), including a green shoe option of Rs 50 crore ($6 million). As per Gemba, Fund-II will invest in around 30 early-stage ‘Platform-first’ businesses across fintech, consumer tech and B2B platforms with first cheque of Rs 5 crores and 30% reserve ratio for making follow-on investments. Founded in 2018, Gemba Capital invests at seed and pre-seed stage in scalable tech startups. It has backed over 120 founders across 50 startups in fintech, consumer tech and B2B platforms since its inception. Some of the notable portfolio companies arePlum (Insurtech), Grip Invest, Wint Wealth, Strata, Navadhan, Zuper, Showroom, Smartstaff, ClickPost and LightFury.

IVY Growth launches Rs 250 Cr Arigato Capital fund

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
IVY Growth launches Rs 250 Cr Arigato Capital fund
Medial

Micro venture capital firm IVY Growth Associates has announced the launch of Arigato Capital, a SEBI-registered Category I AIF Venture Capital (VC) fund, with a target corpus of Rs 250 crore. This sector-agnostic fund is set to invest in startups across a variety of sectors, including agritech, cleantech, generative AI, fintech, consumer brands, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies, the fund said in a press release. Arigato Capital aims to begin raising capital in June 2024, with plans to close all commitments over the next 15 to 18 months. The Venture Capital (VC) fund targets a first close at Rs 100 crore and will focus on startups beyond the seed stage or in pre-series A stages, offering an average ticket size of $500,000. Founded by Prateek Toshniwal, Rachit Poddar, Mehul Shah, and Sharad Todi, IVY Growth Associates claims to have invested in over 100 growth-stage startups. The firm has deployed Rs 20 crore from its fund and utilized more than Rs 80 crore from syndicate funds within its network. IVY’s portfolio includes notable brands such as Rupeek, BluSmart, and Zappfresh. In addition to launching Arigato Capital, IVY Growth Associates will host the third edition of its startup summit, 21 BY 72, from June 15 to June 16 in Surat. The summit is expected to attract over 20,000 participants, including more than 200 startup founders, 200 venture capitalists, and over 500 investors.

Exclusive: PhysicsWallah set to raise $150 Mn at $2.8 Bn valuation

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Exclusive: PhysicsWallah set to raise $150 Mn at $2.8 Bn valuation
Medial

While the edtech space has been going through a long spell of the so-called ‘funding winter’, PhysicsWallah (PW) appears close to raising a new large round. Fresh funding will be led by new investors whereas existing investors including Westbridge and GSV Ventures will also participate, three sources aware of the discussion told Entrackr. “PhysicsWallah is set to raise $150 million from new and existing backers,” said one of the sources requesting anonymity. “The terms of the deal have been sealed and the transaction is likely to be public soon.” This will be the second financing round for the Alakh Pandey-led firm in the past two years. PhysicWallah raised $100 million in a Series A round led by Westbridge and GSV Ventures in June 2022. “PhysicsWallah will be valued at around $2.8 billion in the new round,” said another source who also wished not to be named. This will be over a 2.5X jump in the company’s valuation as PhysicsWallah was valued at $1.1 billion in its Series A funding. Queries sent to PhysicsWallah and Westbridge didn’t elicit any immediate response. We will carry their comments in case they respond. According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, WestBridge held a 2.4% stake in PhysicWallah while GSV owned 1.44% as of the Series A round. Its co-founders Alakh Pandey and Prayeek Maheshwari cumulatively command 86.54% of the company. PhysicsWallah started with online coaching for IIT/JEE but has now become a full-fledged education firm, offering offline coaching, schools, colleges, and upskilling programmes. According to sources, about 30% of its revenue comes from JEE and NEET coaching whereas offline coaching (via Vidyapeeth and Pathshala) contributes 35% of the collection. While the company is yet to disclose FY24 numbers, PhysicsWallah’s revenue surged 3.3X to Rs 779 crore in FY23. At the same time, the firm’s profit declined more than 90% to Rs 8.87 crore in FY23. In November last year, the company laid off 120-150 employees as a cost-cutting measure. Entrckr was the first to report the development. As per data compiled by TheKredible, edtech startups raised only $138 million across 21 deals during the first half of 2024. This is a sharp fall from $456 million in 2023, $2.3 billion in 2022, and $5.8 billion in 2021. The funding news is the strongest testament yet to the investor conviction in PhysicsWallah’s long-term strengths. This incredible loyalty and credibility with the student community other edtechs have simply not been able to earn for love or money. The valuation also indicates a relatively long time investors are willing to wait it out for the firm to deliver on its potential and declared ambitions. A funding round in this environment will not just buy PhysicsWallah time, but also provide the gunpowder to scale up at a much lower cost thanks to the emasculated state of the competition.

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